


Got it?

by orphan_account



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Misunderstandings, Ridiculous, Spooning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-10
Updated: 2014-07-10
Packaged: 2018-02-08 05:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1929198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Prompt) "Early on in their relationship, Bruce would sneak out of their bed after sex, when Tony fell asleep and go sleep in the pull-out/air mattress in the lab. He simply didn't trust the 'Other Guy' when his guard was down while he was sleeping." </p><p>This is what happens to make him comfortable enough to fall asleep with Tony.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Got it?

**Author's Note:**

> a) This is utterly ridiculous and bordering on crack. b) Semi-fill for this ( http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/19458.html?thread=45606402#t45606402 )prompt. c) Trying to kick writer's block in the ass is not going well.

Tony isn’t afraid of the Other Guy like Bruce is. That’s been clear since the start. There aren’t too many people that would stab a ‘potential green rage monster’ in the side. In fact, there seems to be only one person in the world to have done that purely for curiosity and amusement and not for anything malicious.

That doesn’t change the fact that Bruce is terrified of what the Other Guy might do if he lets his guard down. It’s why, after they’re both exhausted and in a tangle of limbs in the sheets, that Bruce forces himself to pretend to drift off, waits for Tony to do so, and leaves. That’s why he goes back to his lab, the most reinforced area of the whole Tower, and goes to sleep on the air mattress that he keeps tucked under one of the desks.

If Tony looks a little hurt the next morning, Bruce pretends not to notice.

Tension builds over time. Bruce continues to slip away. He offers pathetic excuses for his disappearances, and Tony turns it inward. Bruce hasn’t missed how much Tony has been struggling since New York and Killian. He hasn’t missed the anxiety or avoidance. The only person Tony doesn’t avoid is Bruce. The only person that Tony is truly open with is Bruce, and Bruce can’t quite comprehend it. He comes to the conclusion that it’s because Tony seems to lack any and all self-preservation anyways.

That is until the moment Tony explodes at him. Bruce comes to realize that Tony doesn’t see him like everyone else does. Even Natasha can get edgy when Bruce has been pushed to his limits. Tony doesn’t see the ‘problem’ as being Bruce or the Other Guy. He sees it as himself, forcing Bruce to explain the reality. Tony isn’t the problem. He is, and he won’t put Tony in danger.

It only makes Tony angrier.

They don’t talk for a week. The only time there’s any exchange of words is during missions, and Tony even manages to work around that.

Natasha threatens Tony with bodily harm and Bruce with blackmail, but it does nothing.

*

Bruce comes back into focus with a significant weight against his side and on top of one of his arms. His other hand is splayed out on cool metal. It takes him another moment to recognize the weight and coolness against his skin as being the Iron Man suit. His mind is flooded with thoughts.

“Tony?” He calls, “Tony, come on.”

The face plate is gone, and he can see a decent amount of damage done to the suit. Tony’s eyes are closed, and there’s blood trailing from his hairline. Bruce fights every part of himself to keep control. He can’t shake Tony awake without knowing the injuries, so he just calls louder,

“Tony!”

Tony groans softly. Bruce exhales. Tony’s alive at least.

“What’s going on?”

Tony sounds groggy, words a bit slurred. Probable concussion, Bruce tells himself. He can’t even begin to guess the extent of Tony’s injuries until they get the suit off of him, but he’s not in a position to do that at the moment.

“I’m not sure,” Bruce answers honestly, trying to remember, but he knows he can’t. He can see dents in the armor that look like Hulk-sized fingers, and he feels sick to his stomach thinking of what the Other Guy might have done. It only takes a second.

Tony huffs, “Well, this sucks.” He sits up without too much trouble. The suit creaks, clearly damaged in a number of ways, but it’s not too bad off if Tony’s still able to maneuver like he is.

Bruce doesn’t realize that he’s zoned out until Tony’s waving a hand in his face, “Earth to Bruce.”

“What?” Bruce blinks in surprise.

“You okay there, Jolly Green?”

“I-” Bruce’s eyes catch sight of the dents again, and he swallows thickly. “Did he do that?”

“Wha- oh,” Tony looks down and notices the damage as if he couldn’t feel it. There’s no way his arm isn’t bruised badly. He’s lucky it’s still in its socket and not broken. “No. Yes. Sort of.”

That doesn’t really put Bruce at ease. His stomach rolls. Tony must notice, considering he considers talking, “He caught me. Got a little rough, can’t say I mind rough. Could have done without the Hulk-shaped trampoline for a landing. Guy has no soft spots.”

Bruce opens his mouth to say something. Apologize, maybe, but he stops dead in his tracks as his mind processes Tony’s words. The Other Guy has caught Tony before, a few times, but he’s never been particularly gentle with him. The Other Guy seems to fail to realize that Tony’s far more fragile than his suit appears.

“-work on his idea of spooning. It’s like cuddling with a cement-”

Bruce groans and runs a hand through his mess hair. He can feel dirt and debris, but he doesn’t think hard on it. They’re surrounded by rubble. “Spooning?” He asks, disbelieving.

“Huh?” Tony asks, stopping mid-sentence. He hasn’t actually paused since he woke up. Bruce is almost surprised that Tony heard him. “Oh, yeah. He wasn’t interested in letting me go.”

Being hunted. Aliens. Becoming an Avenger. Those things he’s managed to process and live with, albeit they hadn’t all been smooth adjustments. The Other Guy cuddling Tony in his Iron Man suit? Tony must be exaggerating.

“Are we going to sit around all day?” Tony asks, on his feet and holding a hand out to Bruce. He’s apparently forgotten about the fact that he’s been giving Bruce the cold shoulder for the better part of a week.

“I don’t understand,” Bruce admits. It’s not so much that he doesn’t understand the information as it is that he’s completely failed to process the words.

“We aren’t going to lie around here all day.”

“Not what I meant.”

“Not sure what you meant, Big Guy, but we can either lie around here all day, which I strongly disapprove of, or we can go home, have make-up sex, and take a nap. Got it?”

Bruce nods blankly, and Tony grins.

*

Bruce smiles as he rests a hand on Tony’s arm. Tony has his arms tightly wound around Bruce, refusing to let him go. They’re both sticky and sweaty, but Tony doesn’t seem to care.

Bruce relaxes into the embrace. He closes his eyes and listens to Tony’s breathing, strong with even breathes, because of the Other Guy. The Other Guy is the only reason Tony is here, holding him so close. That’s what Tony tells him anyways.

Tony peppers the back of Bruce’s neck and shoulder with kisses, “Stop that. It’s annoying.”

“What?” Bruce asks, a lazy sort of tone that only comes with sleepiness.

“Thinking,” Tony says with a grin that Bruce can feel against his skin.

Bruce does his best to calm his thoughts. Not long after, he’s drifting off with Tony’s chest still pressed against his back. The reactor is cool against his shoulder blades, reminding him that this isn’t a dream.


End file.
